


FUBAR

by 00AwkwardPenguin00



Series: Dragon of the Yuyan [15]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Episode: s02e01 The Avatar State, Gen, Short & Sweet, honestly if I keep going the tags list might end up being longer than the fic itself, just let me know if you want me to tag anything here, not really much to tag here, this is basically just a chance for Zuko to meet the disaster human that is Fong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:21:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24825238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/00AwkwardPenguin00/pseuds/00AwkwardPenguin00
Summary: The fortress may be a joke, but Zuko's not laughing when the general in charge of it proposes a Bad Plan.
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Dragon of the Yuyan [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1582384
Comments: 207
Kudos: 3149
Collections: Finished111





	FUBAR

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MuffinLance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuffinLance/gifts).



Zuko has made the executive decision that _he hates boats._ The Water Tribe catamaran is not small, but the cabin is stuffed tight with all of the people going south, and more often than not Zuko ends up sleeping tucked against the mast on the cabin roof.

When he sleeps at all, that is. The four of them seem to trade off nightmares—Sokka wakes up sobbing Yue’s name, Katara mumbles pleas for Aang to come back, Aang himself seems to gasp awake at least once a night, and Zuko’s added Zhao disappearing into swirling, glowing blue depths to the usual repertoire of the Agni Kai, Mom leaving, the Huzhen massacre, and Azula’s greatest hits. More often than not, Zuko tears himself awake to find either Aang or Sokka up on deck as well, the former staring into the depths and the latter gazing up at the moon. Eventually, one or the other tucks himself into Zuko’s side, and Zuko gently nudges his internal temperature up a degree or two to keep them warm.

During the day, Zuko and Katara keep up their training and Aang’s, although Zuko makes sure that all firebending forms are done cold so as not to accidentally set the ship on fire. Aang’s still having trouble producing more than a finger of flame, still too nervous and unsure of himself. Zuko’s gonna let it go for now, since again, _stuck on a wooden boat in the middle of the ocean_ , but as soon as they hit land, he’s going to put his foot down. They don’t have time for Aang to dance around with this, not if they want to do this the right way.

When he’s not training, either with Aang or on his own, he’s learning sea navigation from Sokka and the other Water Tribe men. It’s one of the few survival skills he _didn’t_ learn at the Stronghold, mainly because the Archers were an Army unit, not Navy, and therefore spent more time on land than at sea. Kai had taught him some basics when he’d dragged Zuko home for leave this past spring, but that had been in a tiny rowboat and they’d never left sight of the shoreline. 

Therefore, Zuko has no clue how the sailors know to drop anchor at this apparently random point in the middle of the open ocean in order to send the squad on their way to General Fong’s base. Pakku gives Katara a vial of water from the Spirit Oasis, Aang a box of waterbending scrolls, Sokka a pat on the shoulder, and Zuko a stern expression which he returns with his fiercest glare. Pakku rolls his eyes and turns to address Aang, seated on Appa’s head, while Zuko scrambles up into the saddle.

“Fly straight to the Earth Kingdom base to the east of here,” he instructs. “General Fong will provide you with an escort to Omashu. There you will be safe to begin your earthbending training with King Bumi.”

Aang nods, and calls, “Appa, yip yip!”

As Appa lifts off and soars away, Katara calls back to Pakku, “Say hello to Gran-Gran for me!”

Zuko can’t articulate how much of a _relief_ it is to be off that creaky, tiny wooden boat. After ensuring that his weapons and rucksack are secure in the saddle, he flops onto his back and stretches out, enjoying the breeze ruffling his hair and the sun on his skin. He sighs deeply in pleasure, breathing out a gust of steam.

“So what was up with you and Pakku, Jerkbender?” Sokka asks suddenly. 

_Nosy ass,_ Zuko thinks, torn between fondness and irritation. He does a tight backwards tumble roll which results in his sitting up and facing the younger warrior. 

**_He wants me to go talk to someone we both know,_ ** he signs, rolling his eyes and tossing the signs out derisively. **_He’s sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong._ **

Sokka nods sagely, but before he can reply, Katara cuts in.

“What’s the harm in doing what he asks?” She cocks an eyebrow at him as though she herself hadn’t defied the man only a month and a half ago. Zuko scowls darkly.

**_He wants me to put the guy in danger just because he thinks it would be good for us to meet,_ ** he snaps out at her. **_It’s bad enough that we’re traveling with the Avatar through potentially occupied territory, if I go meet this guy and someone finds out I’m a firebender, the guy I’m meeting could be retaliated against for affiliating with the enemy. Same thing if Fire Nation forces find out that I’m a deserter. Not worth risking either our lives for a tea date._ ** Good mood thoroughly destroyed, Zuko yanks out his quiver and stomps on his knees to an empty corner of the saddle to do some fletching. The others leave him alone, recognizing that the subject is closed.

They reach the Earth Kingdom Army base in the early afternoon, swooping down to land at the foot of an impressively tall cylindrical tower in the middle of a perfectly circular wall. The fort certainly looks impressive, but even at first glance Zuko can see at least three ways of egress. He'll probably find more with a little poking around. Also the pale stone that the place is made of is nearly blinding, and just screams "attack me!". Zuko is not impressed.

They're immediately met by a massive man in full armor with an equally massive beard, flanked by a truly unnecessary amount of soldiers. 

"Welcome, Avatar Aang!" The man greets them, holding up his arms. Holy Agni, even his voice is massive. "I am General Fong, and welcome to all of you, great heroes! Appa, Momo, fierce Lee, brave Sokka, the mighty Katara…!"

"Mighty Katara? I like that," Katara murmurs, a pleased smirk on her face. 

Zuko scowls. He knows exactly what this general is up to—he’s seen it enough times spying on Colonel Shinu’s meetings with merchants and brass. His suspicions are only confirmed during the interview with the general in his office. Fong praises Aang’s actions against the Fire Navy at the North Pole, and sighs over being able to wield such power. Zuko is just waiting for the other boot to drop.

“Avatar… you’re ready to face the Fire Lord now.”

And there it goes.

Zuko grows more and more furious with each word Fong says. It’s obvious the man doesn’t see Aang as a person, just as a weapon to wield against his enemies. What really gets him is the outright manipulation Fong deploys, playing on Aang’s compassion. It’s exactly the kind of tactic Azula or Ozai might use, and it makes Zuko nearly blind with rage.

Sokka and Katara keep shooting him concerned looks as the four of them are led to a small dining hall. Dinner is served, but Zuko is too furious to eat anything. He keeps his hands clenched tight in his lap and his head down. Aang also picks at his food, lost in thought, and with Sokka too busy stuffing his face to talk, the meal is spent mostly in silence.

They’re next shown to a snug little bunk room, and Aang immediately leaves again. Zuko strips down to his trousers and starts doing pushups. The rage has settled into a low simmer in the pit of his stomach, and between that and the entire fort full of Earth Kingdom troops that probably won’t be nearly as kind as the Northern Water Tribe had been, Zuko knows that this is no time for firebending.

Aang returns an hour later, quiet and pensive, and ambles over to sit on an empty bed. 

“I told the general I’d help him,” he says quietly, “by going into the Avatar State.”

Zuko falls out of his headstand with a thud and a grunt, but Katara is already arguing with him. He waits for her to say her piece, before planting himself in front of his _idiot student._

**_This is fucking stupid,_ ** he signs, leveling his fiercest glare at the kid. Aang shrinks back a little bit, staring at Zuko with wide eyes. But Zuko will not coddle the Avatar if he insists on this idiocy. **_F-O-N-G is using you. You are not a person to him, you are a weapon. Don’t mistake his ambition for compassion. If you go through with this, there will be consequences, not just politically, but spiritually as well._ ** Because Zuko did not witness the Ocean’s revenge for the murder of the Moon and come away still atheistic.

Aang bows his head. “I understand, Sifu Zuko,” he says.

Zuko flicks the moron’s arrow, and hardens himself towards the pathetic expression his student gives him. **_No, I don’t think you do, but you probably will, eventually._ ** Then he sighs silently, and crouches down to be on Aang’s level. **_I don’t trust this man, Aang, because I’ve seen too many of his kind. I think this whole venture is a mistake and I refuse to have any part in it, but I won’t leave you alone with him. You’re my squad, and I’ve got your back._ **

Aang gives him a small smile. “Thanks, Zuko.”

“Awww, is the big bad firebending ninja going soft?” Sokka coos, smirking. Zuko throws a knife side-hand at him, and he yelps as it misses his ear by a fraction of an inch.

**_Call me soft again, I dare you_** , Zuko signs, sneering at the warrior.

The next day is spent watching Aang do all kinds of stupid shit in an attempt to induce the Avatar State. Zuko keeps his good eye on Fong, trusting Sokka and Katara to keep Aang from actually hurting himself. The general hides it pretty well, but Zuko can see his frustration mounting, and is not looking forward to when it snaps.

When it does, it’s admittedly spectacular.

Aang is telling Fong that they should stop trying to induce the Avatar State, citing his belief that the only way it triggers is if he’s in genuine danger. One moment Fong is nodding and stroking his beard, and the next he’s _throwing his fucking desk_ at Aang.

_Called it,_ Zuko thinks to himself, as Fong stands at the massive hole in the wall and orders his troops to “attack the Avatar!”. _Fucking called it._

The two soldiers holding his arms are too strong for Zuko to pull out of their grip, but he sees Sokka shift and immediately realizes what the warrior is going to do. In unison, the pair of them kick the soldiers in the nuts, and Zuko would wince in sympathy if he wasn’t so focused on the crazy general attacking his student.

They meet Katara at the foot of the central tower, and she and Zuko attack the earthbenders throwing massive rock coins at Aang with waterbending and Yuyan hand-to-hand respectively while Sokka throws his boomerang. The sound of crashing boulders nearly sends Zuko back to Huzhen, but he chants _Aang, Aang, Aang in danger_ in his head and stays firmly locked in the present. 

“Maybe you can avoid me, but she can’t!” Fong shouts suddenly, and Zuko looks over in time to see Katara sink to her knees in rock-turned-quicksand-turned-back-to-rock.

“Katara!” Sokka shouts, turning his commandeered ostrich-horse to charge the general. But its feet are also trapped, causing him to go flying into one of the coins. Zuko himself is buried up to the shoulders, snarling and just barely keeping himself from firebending in rage and panic as Katara disappears fully into the ground.

Fong cheers in triumph as Aang’s eyes and tattoos begin to glow, but he quickly stops as the Avatar bends himself into a tornado. The madman bends Katara out of the ground, and then tries to _communicate_ with the swirling dust storm that is the Avatar, until a gust of wind slams him off his feet and into a wall. Zuko doesn’t even notice when he’s freed from the ground, all he can do is duck down and cover his head as the base is all but destroyed.

Then there’s a ringing silence as the dust storm dies away as quickly as it arose. Katara runs to Aang’s side and catches him before he hits the ground, Zuko on her heels. Aang gives him a pleading, apologetic expression, which Zuko answers with a gentle, forgiving smile and a very gentle poke to his arrow with a fingertip. Reassured, Aang turns to Katara.

“I’m sorry, Katara,” he says hoarsely. “I hope you never have to see me like that again.”

A single footstep is the only warning Zuko gets before Fong cheers, “Ha! Are you joking? That was almost perfect!” He completely ignores Zuko’s snarl and drawn knife as he strokes his beard thoughtfully. “We just have to find a way to control you when you’re like that.”

“You’re out of your mind,” Aang tells him flatly, though it doesn’t seem that Fong hears him at all.

“I guess we’ll figure it out on the way to the Fire Nation,” the mad general declares, and if Sokka hadn’t taken that moment to knock him out with his club, Zuko’s knife would’ve gone through his eye.

Zuko stands guard over the exhausted Aang as Sokka and Katara get Appa’s saddle packed and ready to go, and within the hour they’re soaring away deeper into the Earth Kingdom.

When they camp for the night, after dinner is eaten and cleaned up, Aang looks at Zuko sheepishly.

“Y’know what you said the other night, about the Avatar State having consequences? Turns out you were right.” He takes a deep breath, and says in a rush, “If I die in the Avatar State, then that’s the end of the Avatar Cycle. It’ll break and there won’t be another Avatar, ever.”

_Fuck_ , Zuko thinks. And then, because there really isn’t any other appropriate response that he can think of, he signs, **_Fuck._ **

Sokka nods, looking grave. “That’s gotta be a Team Avatar secret,” he says, voice low and serious. “We can’t let that get out to the Fire Lord’s forces, it’d be open season on your head. More than it is already.”

**_Agreed,_ ** Zuko signs. **_Ozai would like nothing more than to destroy the Avatar as a figure of opposition to his rule. If that means destroying the Avatar Cycle entirely, so much the better._ **

They spread their bedrolls out, and bed down for the night. It’s now even more important to get Aang to Omashu as quickly as possible.

**Author's Note:**

> So at the time of this posting, the next installment is not actually complete yet 😱
> 
> I'm also having a slight crisis about the next installment, so to take a little pressure off of myself, I'm going to take a tiny break, and in TWO WEEKS (Saturday, July 4, 2020), I will post EITHER
> 
> **Anniversary**
> 
> or
> 
> **Occupation**
> 
> See you then!


End file.
